Thursday, 10 July 2014

Why have you got spots?

If you've read my blog for a while then you'll know that I've been battling with acne for a number of years, only now does it seem to have given me a bit of a break. I still get the odd one or two but they're far more manageable than they ever have been. I have always asked myself why on earth I still have spots when I'm twenty-odd, and after much research I have come up with a few reasons as to why you might still have spots later in life... I'm no skincare expert but trust me I'm an expert at having spots.

if you've been reading for a while, you'll know that the above picture is very good compared to what my skin used to be.

Hormones:- this is the obvious one, if your spots are around your chin area and it's almost 'that time of the month' then you can probably attribute those to hormones. This is one of the reasons why I still get some spots.

Diet:- I noticed a massive difference in my skin when I started Slimming World; as soon as I started reducing my intake of high fat, high sugar foods my skin became far more manageable and the spots started to subside. The saying 'you are what you eat' definitely applies to me, if I suddenly eat too much sugar or fat my skin rebels and a few spots will appear. There might be certain triggers with your own skin; I've heard dairy can affect some people's skin so it is a case of experimenting and eliminating foods if you think it could be your diet.

Lifestyle:- stress and tiredness can make your skin rebel, if you feel like you're getting too stressed or you feel like you're not getting enough sleep try your best to get a day off or at least get a couple of hours to yourself where you can destress and have some me time! Also smoking & heavy drinking won't do your skin any favours; I'm not going to preach about it but if you smoke then don't be surprised if you have spots... like I said, your skin reflects the toxins which you put in your body!

Products:- Another fairly obvious one I would have thought; I make sure I'm really careful of what new products I use on my skin. If you spend time looking at different ingredients it may be possible to work out if there's a particular ingredient triggering breakouts. I generally find that thick creams clog my pores and I now make sure I avoid products which are alcohol based because they can strip the skin too much which makes it over produce oil which can also block your pores and lead to breakouts.

Pillowcases:- These are a breeding ground for bacteria and I would guess that lots of people don't change them anywhere near as much as they should do. I personally change my pillowcase every 3-4 days and I find it really helps my spot situation. If you find that you have more spots on one side of your face then your pillowcase might be the culprit! Also make sure you change your actual pillow when it needs it, as disgusting as it sounds, sweat and other things will penetrate into the pillow itself over time so it's a good idea to clean them or change them fairly regularly.